Lost and Alone
by ElegantButler
Summary: Bryce wakes up hundreds of miles away with no idea of how he got where he is
1. Chapter 1

Max Headroom: Lost and Lonely

-Chapter One-

The first thing Bryce Lynch wanted when he woke up was the number of the freight train that had run him over.

Cliche? Perhaps. But that was exactly how he felt. His head was pounding and he felt that paradoxical exhaustion that comes from oversleeping.

He tried to think of why he felt so sick. With his eyes still closed, he felt for his glasses on the nightstand beside the bed. He was so surprised to find nothing instead that he fell out of the bed and landed awkwardly on his side.

"What the…?"

He scrambled to his feet, realizing to his horror that he was not in his studio.

"Calm down, Bryce," he told himself. "Just try to retrace your steps. Do you remember how you got here?"

He didn't. Still groggy it was another second before he realized he was nude. He looked around the room for his clothing, but neither it nor his credit tubes were anywhere to be found.

That was not good. Wherever he was, they'd be wanting payment for his stay in the room, and he couldn't make a vu-phone call from the motel without paying for it.

Almost two hundred miles away, Simon Peller was going over the notes of his most recent speech. He had his five TVs set to different news channels.

"The little brat has to be found sooner or later," he muttered to himself. "Of course they'll never believe who he is. So that's him out of the way. I hope that guy I hired didn't do anything nasty to him. Not that I care about some brat's virginity. I just don't want anyone to find evidence they can trace back to him… or to me."

Bryce wrapped the bedsheet around himself like a shroud and lie back down. His entire body ached. No matter how he tried, he could not find a comfortable position. He could not stand for long either. His exhausted body swayed when he tried.

At last the dreaded knock came on the door.

"Housekeeping," a female voice said.

"Go away," Bryce told her.

He was relieved when he heard her footsteps retreating to the next room.

Fine. She was gone. Now what? Maybe he shouldn't have sent her away. But he felt uncomfortable letting a woman in while he was dressed only in a sheet. He wasn't sure why, but it didn't seem right somehow.

At noon, there was another knock on the door. Louder this time. By now he'd rejected housekeeping's attempts to tidy the room three more times. So he wasn't surprised that she'd gone to get some muscle behind her.

He was going to be thrown out. And he doubted they'd let him keep the sheet.


	2. Chapter 2

Lost and Alone

Chapter 2

Bryce didn't look up when the two policemen walked into the motel room.

"Young man," the shorter of the two officers said, firmly while the other searched the room. "You have three minutes to get dressed and hand over your credit and ident tubes."

"I can't," Bryce said simply.

The taller officer looked at the window then went outside to resume his search.

"Listen, kid," the shorter one continued, "my partner is going out back to search. So if you've hidden your things outside in an attempt to get out of paying these nice people you'd better tell me now."

"I haven't," Bryce insisted. "Look I don't even know how I got here! The last thing I remember was trying to sort out a project I was working on."

The taller officer walked in.

"Nothing," he said. "Kid's clean."

"Hey," the shorter one said in a wholly different tone. "Sorry, kid. You wouldn't believe the jerks we get around here who try to stiff people."

"I can believe it," Bryce told them. "I work in Network television."

"Really? What show are you on?"

"None, actually," Bryce explained. "I'm head of Research and Development."

The taller man looked skeptical. "If you're so smart, how'd you wind up in this mess?"

Bryce shrugged. "Fair question. I guess there is a difference between wisdom and intelligence."

"There is," the shorter officer said, "intelligence is natural, wisdom is earned. You'll get more as you go along. Okay, I need to ask you a couple of questions so we can figure out exactly what the situation is that you're in."

"Such as?" Bryce asked.

"Do you know what day this is?"

"Sure," Bryce told him. "It's Friday evening."

"And how exactly did you feel when you woke up?"

"Like a train had run over me," Bryce explained. "No… skip the train. Like I got run over by a hundred tanks."

"I think we'd better have a doctor examine you." the shorter officer said. He looked up at the motel manager and handed him a credit tube."Take off whatever is owed for the room plus the cost of the sheet."

"Never mind," the manager shook his head. "I'm really sorry, kid. I just thought you were a stiffer. Under the circumstances, you don't owe us anything."

"Thanks," Bryce said gratefully. "Officer? Why do you want to take me to the hospital?"

Very delicately, the shorter metrocop replied. "It's Wednesday."


	3. Chapter 3

Lost and Alone

Chapter 3: Lost Genius III

The shorter metrocop looked at his partner. "Stay here and talk to the people who run this joint. Find out anything you can about whoever brought this kid here. I'm calling an ambulance then I'm going to wait here with him until it arrives."

"Ambulance?" Bryce asked. "For what?"

"We need to have you examined," the taller cop said. "Hey, I'm being incredibly rude. My name is Officer Jack Welles. My partner is Officer Mark Farnsworth."

"Bryce Lynch," Bryce muttered.

"Okay, Bryce," Officer Welles said, "here's the thing. Given the circumstances, I think it's best that a doctor do a rape kit on you. There's no evidence in the usual places in the room that would suggest anything. However, we don't know how long you were with whoever brought you here before your arrival."

"Rape kit?" Bryce asked, confusion in his voice. What was this man talking about?

"We need to have you examined, just to make sure you haven't been sexually assaulted."

Bryce blinked. "I still don't understand."

"You don't know about rape… or sex in general… is that what you're telling me?" Officer Welles look at Bryce in sympathetic amazement. How sheltered could a genius get?

"I left home for college when I was ten." Bryce explained.

"And they didn't teach you in school?"

"It was a technical school," Bryce explained.

"Well, never mind that for now," Officer Welles said. "For now, let me just say that sometimes people do nasty things to other people for no very good reason."

"And you think someone did something to me?" Bryce asked.

"It's possible," Officer Welles told him. "Of course, they may have simply taken your things to prevent you from returning home. Let's hope that's the case."

The ambulance arrived and two doctors came in with a gurney.

Bryce winced as he lie down, flinching as they covered him and loaded him into the ambulance.

"Anything?" Murray asked as Edison walked into the Control Room.

"Does it look like I found him? Well does it?" Edison snapped. "Do you see Bryce here?"

"Temper, Edison," Murray warned. "Look I know you're upset. I'm upset, too. At least we know he's not at the body banks. And we've asked the medical centers to inform us if he arrives there."

"And I've got Shawn and Winnie keeping an eye out in the Fringes. So if he shows up there, we'll know."

"Plus Reg, Dom, and Bruno are also keeping watch out that way, right?" Murray reminded Edison.

"Right," Edison grumbled. "I'm going back out."

He stormed out of the Control Room, grumbling about check-in protocols and time-wasting a he left.


	4. Chapter 4

Lost and Alone

Chapter 4: Genius Found

Bryce simply couldn't make sense of anything that was happening to him. Where had the time gone? Why had he been taken away from Network 23? Who had take him? And what on earth was a rape kit?

The last question was the first one he got an answer for.

"My name is Dr. Jane Cooper," the doctor told him, "Once we get you settled in we'd like to do a rape kit. You have the right to refuse. However, if you do allow one it will help us to identify the person who took you from your home."

"What is a rape kit?" Bryce asked.

"It means that we would be doing an internal examination to find out if you've been penetrated without your consent while you were unconscious."

"Internal?" Bryce looked at her in confusion. "Surgical?"

"No, anal." the nurse replied without flinching. "We'd also want to do a genital examination to check for signs of molestation. I know it's uncomfortable to think about. And if you want we can wait until someone comes if you'd prefer to have a friend in the room with you. Given your unfamiliarity with what might have happened to you, that might be a good idea. Is there anyone I can call for you?"

Bryce thought it over. He knew they'd never believe him if he said he knew Cheviot, so instead he mentioned the one person at Network 23 they would probably be likely to call.

"Theora Jones."

"Theora," Murray said, holding the main phone in the control room. "You've got a call. Make it fast, you know our policy about personal communications."

"Thanks, Murray," Theora said getting up from her desk and heading over to the phone.

Murray returned to the desk where Edison and Max were arguing about another interruption to Edison's show.

"You should be looking for Bryce," Max complained. "Not doing sil- sil- silly reports about frogs."

"I want to, Max," Edison shot back. "Don't you think I want to! Cheviot's got this stupid Pets on Parade gig going and he wants me to front the damned thing!"

"Hello," Theora was saying on the phone in the meantime. "Yes, doctor? Yes, I'll take it."

Edison heard the word doctor and turned to face Theora just as she blurted out.

"Oh my god! Bryce!"

"You've found him?" Edison asked, hopefully.

Theora nodded. "Yes, Bryce. I'll come down. Do you want Edison and Murray there, too? Just me? Yes, I'll speak to the doctor. I'll be there in ten minutes." Theora listened for another several minutes, her heart breaking as Dr. Cooper explained the situation to her. By the time she disconnected the call her face was a mixture of grief and rage.

"I have to leave," she told Murray and Edison. "Bryce is in the medical center. He needs me."

"We'll come with you," Edison offered.

"Right now he doesn't want too many people there," Theora explained. "He's already upset and confused enough as it is. I'll let you know when he can have more visitors."

"But…" Edison began.

Murray put a hand on his shoulder. "He's safe, Edison. Let's just let him be for the moment. We don't want to upset or panic him further by overcrowding him."

"You're right," Edison said, but he was far from liking it.


	5. Chapter 5

Lost and Alone

Chapter 5: Tragedy Confirmed

Theora moved through the medical center like a juggernaut until she arrived at the emergency room pod where Bryce was being treated.

"Bryce," she said.

Bryce was so relieved to see her that he tried to stand up and nearly fell over with a cry of unexpected pain.

"You need to stay in this bed until the examination room is ready," Dr. Cooper told him as she and Theora helped him back into it. "Until the nurse has had a chance to examine you for tearing or other injuries you shouldn't be moving around so much."

A man in a doctor's coat walked up to the door. "Dr. Cooper. Examination room five is available."

"Thank you, Dr. Leonard," Dr. Cooper said. She left and returned a few minutes later with a nurse who was pushing a gurney.

As they moved Bryce onto the gurney, Dr. Cooper spoke to her patient.

"Do you want Theora in the room during the examination or do you want her to wait outside and just come in when you need her?"

"I want her in the room," Bryce told her. Looking at Theora with eyes that were brimming with the first tears he'd cried in ages he asked "You will stay with me, won't you?"

Theora looked at Bryce's eyes and realized for the first time that his glasses were also missing. She'd have to get a new pair for him as soon as possible. But right now there were more important things to deal with.

Once they were in the examination room, they moved Bryce from the gurney to the examination table, lying him carefully on his side.

"Dr. Mayall," Dr. Cooper said to the woman who entered shortly after, "this is Bryce Lynch and Theora Jones."

"What do I need to do?" Theora asked as the second doctor placed a new sheet over Bryce to give him some privacy during the examination despite Theora's presence.

"Nothing," Dr. Mayall replied. "Just be here for him. This is going to be very uncomfortable and embarrassing for him."

"Theora," Bryce whispered, "I'm scared."

"I know, Bryce," Theora told him. "I was scared, too."

"Somebody hurt you, too?"

Theora nodded. "Let's not talk about it right now," she said, not wishing to alarm or frighten him.

"Are you ready?" Dr. Mayall asked.

"I guess…" Bryce replied, shyly.

"My name is Dr. Lisa Mayall. I'm a member of the sexual assault response team at this hospital. Now I know this must be pretty scary for you. I'm going to talk you through what I'm doing and tell you each part of the procedure before I begin. Okay?"

"I suppose so…" Bryce hedged.

"Bryce," Theora asked. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just wondering why this happened, Theora. I mean what did I do?"

"Nothing," Theora said, firmly, taking his hand in her own. "You did nothing to deserve this."

Dr. Mayall unsealed the box on the table. Inside it were two smaller boxes one with a male symbol one with a female. Carefully, she selected the male box then closed up the larger box and set it aside.

"This is a rape kit for males," she explained, showing it to Bryce and Theora. "I'm going to examine you with this. It will be uncomfortable and extremely embarrassing."

"Can you put him under for the examination?" Theora suggested.

Dr. Mayall looked up at Dr. Cooper who shook her head.

"He was drugged for five days with an unknown sedative," Dr. Cooper explained. "It's too risky."

Bryce looked at each of the items in the rape kit. Theora watched him. He wasn't in the normally detached mode he examined curiosities in. Each of these items was something to be feared, a bringer of bad news that he didn't want to face.

"Now," Dr. Mayall told him, gently as Theora held his hand and stroked his forehead. "I'm going to spread your buttocks so that I can examine you. Okay?"

Bryce didn't reply at first.

"Bryce?" Theora asked.

"Okay," Bryce replied sounding very timid. He felt more than embarrassed. Truth be told, he felt completely humiliated.

Theora saw the shame in his eyes and squeezed his hand, knowing it would only get worse for him before it was over. She caught the doctor's eye and mouthed 'was he?'.

Dr. Mayall nodded.

Theora had to struggle to remain where she was. The only two things that kept her there were Bryce's need for her to be and the fact that she had no idea where his rapist was.

She held Bryce's hand and did all she could to comfort him as Dr. Mayall collected what little evidence she could.

"There's some tearing," Dr. Mayall said once the collection was finished. "It's scabbed over, that's why the bleeding stopped. However it does need stitches. I'm going to give you a local anaesthetic. You'll feel a pinch."

Bryce let out a pained yelp and squeezed Theora's hand so hard she thought it would break along with her heart.

When it was finally over, Bryce was admitted to the medical center.


	6. Chapter 6

Lost and Alone

Chapter 6: From Bad to Worse

Theora had the accelerator pushed all the way down as she sped from the hospital to Edison's apartment that night. Screeching into the parking lot, she slammed the door and stormed down the pathway, her eyes blazing with furry.

"Edison," she said, banging on his door. "Edison, open up!"

Edison wasn't in bed, but he had fallen asleep. He'd been sitting by the phone waiting for her to call him. It wasn't that late, but he'd been up late every night since Bryce had first gone missing, and it had finally caught up with him. Rudely awakened by the banging and shouting, he went the door and let her in.

"Theora- " he began.

"Twenty," Theora cut him off saying the word as though it were obscene.

Edison blinked. "Twenty what?"

"That's how many men attacked Bryce last week," Theora said, angrily. "They found twenty disparate samples."

"Goddamn it," Edison swore, angrily leaping to his feet. "Do they have any identifications?"

"Nothing a hundred percent positive," Theora told him. "They know the assaults didn't happen at the motel, however. At least not in the room where he was found. There was no evidence. At least not where they found him."

"They could've attack him in the bath. They'd be able to flush the evidence and nobody would've known better."

"The cops say the owner only saw one man go in or out of the place."

"Did they get a description?"

"They're questioning several men who fit a rough description," Theora said. "But, Edison, it's so flimsy it could fit half the men in the city."

Edison paced his apartment for several minutes, then picked up the vu-phone.

"Ah...Mr. Carter," a sly voice said on the other end.

Theora shivered.

"What's your range, Mr. Breughal," Edison inquired.

"I travel the fringes, and out as far as the river," Breughal said.

"What about around two hundred miles away?"

Breughal raised an eyebrow. "I'll bag in astronaut on Venus for the right price, Mr. Carter."

"Meet me at the ouzo bar tomorrow night at six," Edison said, hanging up.

"What was that all about?" Theora asked.

"Whoever is responsible for Bryce's attack probably knows that Network 23 has me on a leash. They won't be afraid of my threats. Breughal has no such restrictions."

"Meanwhile, Bryce has to stay at the hospital," Theora grumbled. "If he comes back to Network 23, he'll just be targeted again."

"Right," Edison stormed into the bathroom got dressed then came back out.

"Where are we going?" Theora asked.

"Out," Edison told her, storming out to the company car he'd driven home in during the previous day's rain.

Many minutes later, they were sitting inside the pink microbus that housed Big Time TV.

"So, where was he?" Reg asked once Edison had told her and Reg that they had finally located Bryce. The pair had been a part of the search ever since it had begun, along with Blank Bruno.

Edison felt they should be the first to know, before even Cheviot. He also didn't think Cheviot should know until they found out who'd been responsible. He didn't think Cheviot had done it, but if he accidentally said something around whoever had been.

Edison was almost positive it had to be an inside job.

"He was at a motel about two hundred miles away," Theora told them. "They took everything he had and left him stranded there. He was almost arrested, thank God the metrocops they called were an intelligent pair."

"So, where is he now?" Dom inquired.

"He's at the medical center," Theora said. "He was in pretty bad shape." She eyed Edison, praying he would not mention that Bryce had been apparently passed around like a pleasure doll.

"Can he have visitors?" Dom asked.

"Not yet," Theora apologized. "He's pretty upset. The doctors think its best if things are quiet and non-threatening."

"The real problem right now is that we don't know where to put Bryce once he's released," Edison explained. "Network 23 isn't safe until we catch whoever abducted him."

"You expect an inside job?" Reg asked.

"It had to be," Theora replied.

"So, who at your network has reason to want to get rid of Bryce?"

"I don't know," Edison admitted. "Bryce is a nice kid. He's always been helpful to me. Sometimes he takes a little coaxing. He hates when I interrupt a project he's working on."

Both he and Theora smiled at that one.

"Scientists," Dom remarked, a hint of fondness in her voice.

Reg raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

"Remember the time when Peller…" Edison stopped. His eyes narrowed. "Peller. It has to be him."

"Simon Peller," Theora said. "I know he's a jerk, Edison. But do you really think he'd do something like that?"

"People like Peller don't like to get their hands dirty," Reg agreed. "He must've hired someone."

"Until we find out who, we need to keep Bryce somewhere safe."

"He can stay here," Dom told them. Reg and I will sleep in the van's seats and he can have the cot."

"Are you sure?" Theora asked.

"Yes," Dom said, her voice brooking no arguments.

"Thank you," Edison said in reply.


End file.
